WHY ARE FRENCHIES SO EXPENSIVE???
I get asked all the time, why are French Bulldogs so expensive? There is A LOT that goes into breeding a healthy French Bulldog. To start there is health testing ($300+) that needs to be done to ensure that both parents are suitable to be bred and a full blood panel prior to breeding time to ensure our female is healthy. You don't just put 2 frenchies together because your friend has a male and you have a female. They should meet AKC standards and they need to compliment each other in areas that the other may be lacking. In addition to having them health checked, they need to have great temperaments, they are bulldogs after all, and bad temperaments are passed onto offspring.
Most frenchies don't breed naturally, they are Artificially Inseminated ($150 for normal AI, $400 for TCI and up to $1500 for surgical AI). Then there is the stud fee ($2000-$8000), multiple progesterone tests to time ovulation ($100 per test and its usually no less than 3 tests per heat cycle), possible overnight semen shipping if no local studs ($150-$450 per shipment), ultrasounds to confirm pregnancy ($150), vitamins and premium food for mama during pregnancy, x-ray for pup count ($150) and c-section ($1400-$3500). About 5% of the breed can naturally whelp, but due to the size of the babies heads most all pups are delivered by c-section. All of my mamas have c-sections to ensure mom and pups are safe, I won't risk their health.
Once the pups are born we have additional expenses such as countless puppy pads, cleaning products to sanitize and clean puppy areas and blankets, formula for pups, puppy food, shots, multiple dewormings, microchip, vet checks, health certificate, puppy packs etc. This is in addition to our time that we invest in taking care of these pups.
Frenchies are also not known for being the best mamas and sometimes we have to step in and take over. They are not a breed that you can just leave alone with mama for her to raise them. The first 2 weeks we have to assist in feeding the newborns every 2 hours to ensure that they are eating and warm and weigh them daily to ensure they are gaining weight. You have to be prepared to hand or tube feed the pups every 2 hours if mamas milk doesn't come in or if you have a pup that has a weak suckle. Having an incubator, nebulizer and oxygen on hand is imperative incase a pup aspirates or gets sick.
Pups are unable to regulate their body temperature until 3 weeks old and a slight draft can kill a pup by causing pneumonia. There is also the possibility of mama getting sick with mastitis or something else and having to be hospitalized, which can be very expensive.
Even after all this there is still the chance of losing one or an entire litter, which is devastating emotionally and financially.
By doing things the right way it costs a lot of money, time, sweat, and tears to raise a healthy well socialized french bulldog, as well as maintaining our adult dogs the right way. I breed to better the breed, not for greed. Breeding is not a get rich quick scheme, even though some breeders may try to say that it is, just to get the extra money for breeding rights. Most of the time I'm lucky to break even, that's reality. If I make anything on my pups it goes right back to my program. If raising frenchies was a way to make money, I wouldn't be working full time. It's a VERY expensive hobby.